William f



(No Model.)

W. F; WARE.

BUTTON 0R KNOB.

No. 316,208. Patented Am. 21 1885.

NI'IE STATES I WILLIAM F. WARE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

BUTTON OR KNOB.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 316,208, dated April 21, 18855.

Application filed October 21, 1884. (No motlehi T0 at whom it may c0nce7'n:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM F. WARE, of New York city, county of New York, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Buttons or Knobs, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

My invention has relation to that class of fasteners or buttons or knobs employed for the purpose of holding flexible materialsuch as leather, cloth, &c;'and intended to pass through a hole or slit formed in said material and ordinarily termed the button-ho1e.

The object of my invention is to produce a knob or button of the class named which shall be cheap, durable, and efficient for holding the material when placed over it, which shall facilitate the operation of buttoning or fastening as well as of unbuttoning or unfastening, be capable of easy operation in connection with heavy, coarse, or stiffened materials, be readily operated with one hand without the aid of implements, and adapted to receive and hold one, two, or more overlapping thicknesses of material.

To accomplish this and to secure other advantages, as will hereinafter appear, my invention consists in a new and useful knob or button of peculiar construction, which will be herein first fully described and then claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a button or knob constructed and arranged for operation in accordance with my invention and involving the principles thereof, the head being shown as provided with a screw to facilitate its attachment in any situation, as upon the frame-work of a carriage-top or elsewhere. Figs. 2 and 3 are elevations showing the head provided, respectively, with a nail or pin for driving into wood and a stem to be riveted or upset, so as, to secure the head firmly in position. Fig. 4' is a side elevation of the head arranged for use after the manner of a collar or cuff button and omitting the stems shown in previous figures. Figs. 5, 6,

and 7 are end elevations of the forms shown, respectively, in Figs. 1, 2, and 4; and Figs. 8, 9, and 10 are plan views of the forms shown, respectively, in Figs. 1, 2, and 4.

l In all these figures like letters of reference,

wherever they occur, indicate corresponding parts.

A represents what may be called the baseplate of the button or knob, upon which plate the head and shank are mounted.- This plate may be of any form. It is preferably formed integrally with the shank. which is represented at B, and which supports the head.

In Fig. 1 the fastener is shown as provided with ascrew, O, which, being driven into wood, holdsthe fastener in a secure manner, and to facilitate the driving of the screw the baseplate may be of hexagonal or other angular contour, as indicated in Figs. 1. 5, and 8, to receive a wrench or other implement.

The nail or peg-D (shown in Fig. 2) may be driven without turning, (and clinched, if desired,) and the stem E, Fig. 3, is intended to be riveted or upset, as will be readily understood, or clinched for use on flexible material- In the forms so far described the base-plate might be omitted, the screw, nail, or stem being connected directly with the shank; or any other means of holding the fastener in place might be adopted. These forms are intended for use upon carriages or cars and in other situations to hold flaps of leather or any fabric, curtains, 850., in place.

The head is of peculiar form and outline, the top medial line thereof being curved from the middle gradually down to the points a a, which project beyond the shank, and the middle portion of the head being gradually enlarged from the top down to the points b b, which also project slightly beyond the shank. The under surface of the points a a are slightly upturned, and all the curved surfaces are united in such manner as to make the head without sharp angles,which might interfere with its successful operation. As indicated, thehead is considerably longer in one direction than in the other, so that it will readily pass through a button-hole without lateral strain thereon, and, as shown by the plan views,the ends of the head are wedgeshaped, so as to facilitate their passage into and out of the button-hole.

In use the button-hole is simply drawn with the hand or crowded over one of the points a, which readily enters the hole when the material itself or the strain thereonforces the margin of the button-hole completely over the head, thus in effect doing all that remains to be done in order to accomplish the buttoning.

Upon carriages, &c., the facility with which the buttoning of the curtains may be accomplished will be readily appreciated. Both points a on the button or fastener operate in the same manner, so that oppositely-closing curtains may be readily secured upon the same fastener. The top or head being smooth, damage to the button-hole is obviated, and being elongated in the direction of the length of the button-hole the latter is not spread unnecessarily in passing over the head.

The operation of unbuttoning the material is facilitated by the curved under surface of points a, it being only necessary to draw the end of the hole over one of the points, when the unbuttoning will be accomplished in like manner as the buttoning.

By reference to Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive, it will be seen that the points a havea similar degree of curvature on the underside as on the upper side, so that the operation of unbuttoning may be performed with the same facility as the buttoning.

For use in connection with collars and cuffs, or in situations where the head and shank are not desired to be mounted in any peculiar way, the stems, such as shown at G, D, and E, are omitted, and the head and base-plate A are united by the shank B, as shown in Fig. 4,. For use in such situations the flattened shank B (or some equivalent thereof) plays an important part in preventing the fastener from turning after being inserted through one button-hole, so that the head is always in proper position for easy adjustment of the next button-hole to be passed thereover. In the previous forms, since'the head is held stationary by the projecting stems or equivalent securing devices, the shanks might be made round, if desired.

For use as a collar or cuff button the improved device operates in the same manner as above explained, and will prove peculiarly advantageous in facilitating the buttoning and unbuttoning of highly starched or stiffened goods.

The improved device is applicable in a great number of situations unnecessary to set forth in detail, but prominent among which are carriages, cars, boats, and in connection with ourtains, awnings, military equipments, tarpaulins, &c., and for various uses the fastener may be made of various sizes.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

As a new article of manufacture, the hereindescribed button or knob having the elongated head wedge-shaped toward the end,which end is similarly rounded on the upper and lower surfaces, and the shank connected with said head, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two witnesses.

WM. F. \VARE. 

